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Weekend Kitchen With Waitrose - Dexter's Diary: Week 2

The show's resident doggy reports from behind the scenes

A lot of people claim to ‘live out of their suitcase’. But on Saturday, I literally did. It was all thanks to the show’s super-talented reporter, Angellica Bell, who fashioned me a luxurious doggy bed from an old piece of luggage. I proceeded to make very good use of it all afternoon - check me out! Heaven.

Talking of sleep – or lack of it – some of the crew started their day at the uncivilised hour of 2.45am. Bafta award-winning camera supervisor Lincoln Abraham told me: ‘It can be painfully hard getting up so early. But live television is so much fun because you never know what’s going to happen – especially when you’re around.’ The cheek of it!

During rehearsals I was approached by everyone’s favourite property expert Sarah Beeny who, without a word of warning, began to tickle me vigorously under the chin. I think she was nervous about meeting Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton (below, with the other guests Angellica, Katy B and presenters Lisa and Pops - I mean Steve), who taught her how to make mushroom risotto. ‘I’m not a bad cook,’ she told me, moving on to a belly tickle. ‘Well, I haven’t poisoned anybody!’ Sarah might not be an expert in the kitchen but she’s a dab hand at DIY. ‘I learnt all my skills by trial and error,’ she told me. ‘I’ve made every mistake going.’

I have a confession to make. While my dad Steve Jones wakes up at 3.45am to start work on Saturdays, I don’t arrive on set till later. After getting up so early for the first show I couldn’t face it. ‘Dexter, you are such a little diva,’ he told me when I rocked up at 8am. I think he may be a tad jealous of the attention I’m getting.

He shouldn’t be – Pops can’t go anywhere these days without signing an autograph, including at Waitrose. ‘I’ve been going there for 10 years,’ he told me during one of our sofa snuggles. ‘And nobody ever recognised me. But since I’ve started this show people are stopping me all the time.’